


A Scheme for Marriage

by LilyFire



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Cunning, F/M, Forced Pregnancy, Sex, Sexual Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28134570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyFire/pseuds/LilyFire
Summary: Edna Braithwaite is desperate to trap Tom Branson into marriage, but she needs a baby first. Thomas Barrow prefers the company of men, but this devious maid knows his secret. Torn between hate and loneliness. Thomas gives in and gives her a baby...
Relationships: Thomas Barrow & Edna Braithwaite, Thomas Barrow/Edna Braithwaite, Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent
Kudos: 12





	A Scheme for Marriage

**Author's Note:**

> I know Thomas Barrow is gay; this story is NOT meant in any way to be an attack on his homosexuality or on the LGBTQ+ community. This is solely a work of fiction based on the deviousness of Edna Braithwaite.

Edna was desperate. This was how she was going to climb her way out of the gutter, and she wouldn’t feel bad about it. She swept past scrambling page boys and bustling servants as she followed the trail of cigarette smoke.

He was leaning on the mantle, the silver buttons on his pressed uniform gleaming in the firelight. Thomas stared pensively into the flames as though they held the secrets to his future. He took a long drag of his cigarette.

“what do you want?” he didn’t bother to look at her, and for that Edna was thankful.

She glanced around, but they were alone. Her proposition was a dangerous one.

“I need you help.”

He scoffed, the chuckle deep and menacing.

“And pray what might that be? You said yourself that things were on the up and up,” he locked his piercing stare onto her “was that a lie?”

She held her chin up defiantly, fearing her could see how her heart beat so fiercely it made her tremble.

“It’s true, I just…need some help with my plan is all.”

Thomas cocked an eyebrow, “is Mr. Branson not falling for your whorish tricks?”

Edna flinched at the cruel words, but she bit her tongue.

“on the contrary.”

He stamped his cigarette out on the burnished mantle, casting it into the fireplace. “Then what do you want from me?”

She hesitated, it was now or never. Edna knew she would never find the courage to plead for this again. She could practically feel her new life slipping from – the sparkle of jewels fading from view, the rich wine dissolving on her tongue, the gowns slipping away…

Thomas stepped closer until they were a foot apart. She had to tilt her head back to see him, pulse fluttering like a gazelle at the lion’s maw.

“a baby.”

He startled as though hit. “A what?”

Before he could move away, she grasped the lapels of his jacket.

“Please. I don’t know if it worked, and I don’t have much time. What if Tom and I never…lie together again. This is my chance. Please”

He shoved her away. “Ms. Braithwaite you are a scheming little maid, aren’t you? Though I suppose ‘maid’ isn’t quite the word we can use.” he chuckled.

“Thomas, please. I’ll give you whatever you want. When I’m lady of the house – ”

“lady of the house?” he sneered, “you seem to forget where Mr. Branson stands in line to the Downton throne.” His dark eyes narrowed, “unless you have other…sinister plans.”

“No, no.” Edna shook her head, humiliation reddening her cheeks, “not at all. I just, I just want better than being a housemaid is all.”

“Oh, I can think of a few jobs for you, with your skills.”

She slapped him straight across the face, the smack thundering in the empty room.

Edna gasped and backed up, clutching her throbbing hand in fear.

“Well,” Thomas touched his stinging cheek, “I didn’t expect that. You are a fighter.”

“Thomas, I –”

“Don’t say anything more Ms. Braithwaite.”

With that he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

\-----

The next time they were alone was a few days later, after the swelling on Thomas’s cheek had subdued. He told Mr. Carson he bumped into a low-hanging chandelier, earning snickers from the other servants.

Thomas was coming down the stairs after checking the galley that evening, as Edna was reaching the landing.

“Thomas.”

“Oh, we’re on a first name basis are we?”

He moved to shoulder past her but she blocked him, the laundry basket she was carrying offered a buffer.

“Have you thought about my offer?”

“Offer,” that devilish smirk shadowed his handsome face, “I don’t remember being offered anything. Besides, has Mr. Branson actually said anything.”

“Why yes,” finally, she had the advantage “I saw him again, last night,”

Thomas cocked an eyebrow.

“And, afterwards, he was talking about children.”

“With you or in general?”

“Well, not quite. Just talking about children in general, but he’s ready. As am I.”

“Well then congratulations Ms. Braithwaite. You seem to have it all in order.”

Edna shoved the laundry basket against his stomach, forcing him to remain on the landing.

“That’s it, I need to be sure. And I don’t think – ”

Thomas lurched forward, backing Edna into the wall, shaky hands still gripping the basket, knuckles white as a ghost.

His eyes narrowed as he whispered, “Are you implying something indecent about Lady Sybil? Because that I won’t tolerate.”

“No of course not. I just, I just need certainty is all. Thomas, Branson will provide for the child and me, and I can pay you handsomely.” She licked her lips, uncertain, but desperate to try anything, “You can even pretend I’m Jimmy, if you want.”

With a single smooth motion Thomas wrenched the basket from her hands, spilling the costly gowns down the steps. He slammed his hands down on either side of his head, his breath hot on her neck as he bent down.

“Careful Ms. Braithwaite. I don’t know what you’re implying”

The proximity of his lithe body against hers sent butterflies flittering in her stomach. Dark hair, dark eyes, full, handsome lips. Edna didn’t care that he was a dandy. He would do quite nicely. Her fingers trailed down his front, and she felt his abdomen tighten as she neared his belt.

“Oh I think you do, Thomas”

She stood on her tippy toes to whisper his name into his ear, a lover’s gesture, one that sent shivers down Thomas’s spine. She cupped him and he groaned against her, eyes flickering closed at the promise.

“Keep that up and I might just fuck you right here.”

Edna gave him a sultry grin. “Tonight, leave your door unlocked.”

Cold air like icy fingers caressed his hot skin as she moved away, bounding lithely down the steps. Thomas watched her go.

It had been a long time since he’d had anyone – man or woman. He had his preferences, yes, but the tightness in his cock made him willing to make exceptions.

\-----

The clock struck midnight, but Thomas was wide awake, muscles tensing at the slightest sound. He kept a candle burning low, and was already hard at the prospect of tonight.

Finally, she slipped in. Her hair was braided into a golden twist down her back. Her shift was so thin that Thomas could see the pebbles of her nipples poking against the slight fabric. Without any hesitation she climbed into bed, straddling his legs.

“I see you’re ready for me.”

“Not for you,” he spat, but the excitement made his words softer than he wanted.

Edna guided his hands away from his pulsing cock to stroke his shaft with one hand, with the other she trailed a finger down his chest. Thomas’s breathing picked up the pace.

“Have you done this before, with a woman I mean?” her pumping quickened to match his pants.

“Yes, and be quiet.”

His eyes were closed, hands fisting the sheets. Edna gazed down at him, sad that a man like him – despite his cruelty – had to be alone. Would he ever know the touch of a lover? The kiss of a life partner?

When she felt him reaching the breaking point, Edna lifted her shift and hovered above him, bracing herself for the pain that was sure to come.

“Are you ready to commit this cardinal sin, Ms. Braithwaite?”

She nodded, and he had to open his eyes to see her response.

Her pussy lips were small and pink, and she spread them wide above the tip of his cock.

“Well you don’t look ready,” he sounded annoyed.

“I’ll be fine, just do it.”

Thomas gave an exasperated sigh and scrambled to his knees. His cock was hard as the stone pillars on the abbey’s porch, and he struggled to stave off the release he so desperately craved.

“Get on your back.”

“What?”

“Just do it,” Thomas growled.

She lay down and he pushed her shift up past her breasts. He was positively dying to finish his business, but he had a mission now.

He lapped at one pert rosebud as he slid two fingers into her womanly softness. Edna gasped and grasped his shoulders.

“Thomas,” she breathed in pleasant wonder

It felt good to hear his name called in such a way, and he held onto that rare feeling. He teased her bundle of nerves with his thumb as he sucked greedily on one breast. He felt her body come alive at his ministrations. She moaned and tossed in pleasure beneath him, clenching her toes and arching her back. Her hips bucked against his hand as he continued stroking her mound. His lips moved to her neck before he could stop himself. He left blooming kisses on her coursing pulse, hardening with each gasp she made.

“Thomas,” it was like a prayer, and for a brief moment he let himself pretend it was Jimmy writhing beneath him.

“There, I think you’re good and ready,”

She nodded, pushing sweaty hair from her brow. Edna brought her legs around his slender waist, nearly crying out as he pushed into her.

Thank God he had prepared her, for his girth would have been impossible otherwise. She covered her mouth as he thrust into her, opening like a flower in bloom. Thomas’s eyes were closed, but he gave it all he was worth. Each thrust sent her inching across the bed until her head was nearly dangling off the side.

Thomas pressed his mouth against her skin to hide his groan of pleasure as he spilled his hot seed. The warm rush was a dizzying feeling, heightened as Edna’s walls shuddered and pulsed around him. She tipped off the edge soon after, grasping his broad shoulders as she cried out against his flushed neck.

Once he was sure she was spent, Thomas withdrew and flopped next to her, panting heavily. He basked in the peaceful afterglow that he had long forgotten, letting it erase all the worries and confusion from his mind.

Edna rose, pulling her shift down.

“Thank you, Thomas.”

He grunted, and blew out the candle as the door clicked shut.

\----

Thomas was delightfully sore the next day. It had been so long since he had experienced more than his hand. The company alone – even if it was a woman, and an annoying one at that – had brought about an intense release.

All day the servants asked why he was smiling. He quickly fixed his scowl back on his face, but it couldn’t last. Nor did he speak to Edna, but he sneaked glances at her when no one was watching. He couldn’t help but look at her belly. Of course, he knew pregnancy wouldn’t show right away, it would take months. But there was something exciting about the prospect of giving her a baby. Him – Thomas of all people – may have created a life. Something that would outlive him. It sent a thrill through his heart every time he thought of it. Jimmy even caught him humming, but Thomas only smiled and continued on his merry way, daydreaming about the child.

That merriment was cut short by Tom Branson. Thomas seethed every time he saw the uppity chauffer. His expensive suit and car, how he got to give orders and dismiss servants like he had an ounce of noble blood. It was infuriating that a man like him had the upper hand. It disgusted Thomas, and he resisted the urge to spit in his food as he carried the steaming steak upstairs. Tom thanked him and picked up his silver fork, the rich wine gleaming in a crystal glass to his left.

The only pleasure Thomas got was knowing he fucked Branson’s mistress. It sent a cruel smile flickering across his face.


End file.
